The film opens with a large gathering inside an aircraft hangar. Everyone is attending a private ceremony for Democratic U.S. Representative Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks), who is receiving a major commendation for supporting the U.S. clandestine services. As everyone looks in admiration upon a clearly moved Wilson, the movie goes back in time.
At the Saint Ignatius Orphanage, a rebellious boy named John Rossi refers to himself as "Simon Templar" and leads a group of fellow orphans as they attempt to run away to escape their harsh treatment. When Simon is caught by the head priest, he witnesses the tragic death of a girl he had taken a liking to when she accidentally falls from a balcony.
James Bond—agent 007—pursues Ernst Stavro Blofeld and eventually finds him at a facility where Blofeld look-alikes are being created through surgery. Bond kills a test subject, and later the "real" Blofeld, by drowning him in a pool of superheated mud.
Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a CIA case officer in Iraq, tracking a terrorist called Al-Saleem (Alon Abutbul). He meets Nizar, a member of the terrorist organization who is prepared to offer information in return for asylum in America. Despite his boss Ed Hoffman's (Russell Crowe) objections, Ferris agrees to shelter Nizar. Nizar is used as a pawn to draw out the rest of his cell; when he is captured, Ferris is forced to shoot him to prevent him from exposing Ferris' identity. Furious at Hoffman's refusal to act on the information Nizar provided, Ferris and his associate Bassam (Oscar Isaac) go to search a safehouse in Balad, Iraq, of which Nizar had told them. There, Ferris observes men burning records and attempts to bluff his way in, but is exposed. In the ensuing shootout and chase, Ferris and Bassam's vehicle is hit by an RPG. Ferris and some salvaged discs are rescued by helicopter but Bassam is killed in the explosion.
An American NASA spacecraft is hijacked from orbit by another, unidentified spacecraft. The U.S. suspect it to be the Soviets, but the British suspect Japanese involvement since the spacecraft landed in the Sea of Japan. To investigate, MI6 operative James Bond—agent 007—is sent to Tokyo after faking his own death in Hong Kong and being buried at sea from HMS Tenby (F65).
In 1963, professional thief turned CIA agent Napoleon Solo extracts Gaby Teller, daughter of Udo Teller, an alleged Nazi scientist turned United States collaborator at the end of World War II, from East Berlin, evading KGB operative Illya Kuryakin. He later reports to his superior, Saunders, who reveals that Teller’s uncle Rudi works in a shipping company owned by Alexander and Victoria Vinciguerra, a wealthy couple of Nazi sympathizers who intend to use Teller's father to build their own private nuclear weapon. Due to the potentially world-ending nature of this crisis, the CIA and KGB have reluctantly teamed up and Solo and Kuryakin are ordered to stop the Vinciguerras from succeeding, with both men secretly assigned to steal Udo Teller's research for their respective governments.
In 1969, students Martin Brice and Cosmo are sneakers who hack into computer networks using university equipment, to redistribute conservative funds to various liberal causes. The police burst in and arrest Cosmo while Martin is out getting pizza, and Martin becomes a fugitive.
Jimmy Tong (Jackie Chan) is a taxi driver notorious for his speed and ability to get his customer anywhere in the least amount of time. His reputation lands him a job as the personal chauffeur of the mysterious but wealthy Clark Devlin (Jason Isaacs). Jimmy does not really know what his new boss' job is, but Devlin's friendly nature, imperturbable demeanor, and willingness to offer Jimmy advice wins Jimmy over and the two become friends. Jimmy has no idea that Devlin is a spy, and when an attempt to kill Devlin with a car bombing sends him into a coma, Jimmy ends up with Devlin's recent case notes and a special watch that controls Devlin's rather unusual tuxedo.
James Clayton (Colin Farrell), a computer programming expert at MIT, is offered an interview by senior Central Intelligence Agency instructor Walter Burke (Al Pacino) for a position with the Agency. After witnessing a demonstration of Clayton's skills, Burke tests Clayton with a puzzle encoded on the sports page of a newspaper. Clayton agrees to be recruited because he wants information about his missing father, whom he suspects was a CIA agent.
A photograph and an audio recording on reel-to-reel tape are dropped off anonymously at the home of Edward Wilson (Matt Damon), a senior CIA officer, after the 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba fails due to an undisclosed leak. While riding to work on the bus, Edward is approached by a young boy who asks if Edward has change for a dollar. Upon arriving at work, Edward's assistant checks the serial number of the dollar against a long list of serial numbers assigned to various code names and confirms that Edward has been given a dollar from "Cardinal". The story then flashes back to 1939.
De retour de mission à Berlin, l'agent secret Lorraine Broughton raconte la façon dont elle a accompli sa mission. Elle se trouve en présence de Gray, officier du MI6, et de Kurzfeld, officier de la CIA.
In London, a golden bullet with James Bond's code "007" etched into its surface is received by MI6. It is believed that it was sent by famed assassin Francisco Scaramanga, who uses a golden gun, to intimidate the agent. Because of the perceived threat to the agent's life, M relieves Bond of a mission revolving around the work of a scientist named Gibson, thought to be in possession of information crucial to solving the energy crisis with solar power. Bond sets out unofficially to find Scaramanga.
Set in the 1930s during Japan's colonial rule of Korea, many Korean resistance activists are based in Manchuria, northeastern China while hiding from Japanese authorities. In 1933, orders are given to assassinate Kawaguchi Mamoru, the governor of the Japanese garrison in Gyeongseong, and Kang In-gook, a pro-Japanese Korean business tycoon. For this covert mission, Yeom Seok-jin, an agent of the provisional Korean government who had broken out of prison in 1911, is tasked to do the same for three people and bring them to Shanghai: topnotch sniper Ahn Ok-yun, who's in a Manchurian jail for shooting her superior; Chu Sang-ok (nicknamed "Big Gun"), one of the last graduates of the Independence Military School and in prison after stealing guns from Chiang Kai-shek's army then selling them; and Chu's cellmate Hwang Deok-sam, an explosives specialist imprisoned for selling faulty product. The squad arrives in Gyeongseong, not knowing that one of them is secretly working for the Japanese and has hired freelance assassin Hawaii Pistol and his sidekick Old Man to kill members of the team.
U.S. energy giant Connex is losing control of key Middle East oil fields in a kingdom ruled by the al-Subaai family. The emirate's foreign minister, Prince Nasir (Alexander Siddig), has granted natural gas drilling rights to a Chinese company, greatly upsetting the U.S. oil industry and government. To compensate for its decreased production capacity, Connex initiates a shady merger with Killen, a smaller oil company that recently won the drilling rights to key petroleum fields in Kazakhstan. Connex-Killen ranks as the world's twenty-third largest economy, and antitrust regulators at the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) have misgivings. A Washington, D.C.-based law firm headed by Dean Whiting (Christopher Plummer) is hired to smooth the way for the merger. Bennett Holiday (Jeffrey Wright) is assigned to promote the impression of due diligence to the DOJ, deflecting any allegations of corruption.
Organization of Super Spies (OSS) agent Marissa Wilson (Jessica Alba) is leading a team of agents attempting to capture a criminal named Tick Tock (Jeremy Piven), who purchases a mini-disk stolen from OSS. Despite being nine months pregnant and going into labor, she continues her pursuit, against the admonitions of her boss, Danger D'Amo (also played by Jeremy Piven). Tick Tock is captured and the mini-disk, which contains information on a weapon of mass destruction called Project: Armageddon, is retrieved.